ICU · Neurocritical Care
Raised ICP and traumatic brain injury management
Also known as Raised intracranial pressure (ICP) · Traumatic brain injury (TBI) · Intracranial hypertension · Cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) · Decompressive craniectomy · Seattle ICP algorithm
Raised ICP and severe TBI: the Seattle (SIBICC) tiered algorithm, BEST:TRIP and CREVICE, hyperosmolar therapy, DECRA versus RESCUEicp, barbiturates, multimodality monitoring, prognostication, and the therapies that harm — steroids, hypothermia, hyperventilation, albumin.
Checked against its sources on 13 Oct 2026
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Red flags
- ICP above 22 mmHg warrants treatment — untreated intracranial hypertension causes secondary brain injury and death
- CPP must be maintained at 60-70 mmHg — too low causes ischaemia, too high risks ARDS and fluid overload
- Avoid hypotension and hypoxia (PaO2 <60) — secondary brain insults double mortality in severe TBI
- RESCUEicp: decompressive craniectomy reduces mortality but increases rates of vegetative state and severe disability
- POLAR trial: prophylactic hypothermia does NOT improve outcomes in severe TBI
A young man with severe diffuse TBI has a high ICP and a low-normal MAP, giving a CPP well below target — and the Seattle algorithm (SIBICC) says what to do next, in tiers.[1]
Monitoring — who gets what
ICP monitoring is associated with mortality when ICP rises; management guidelines recommend keeping physiological ICP to prevent herniation and inadequate cerebral blood flow.[20] The EVD both measures and drains; ventriculostomy-related infection and haemorrhage are the recognised complications.[24]
Optic nerve sheath diameter on ultrasound is a strong contender among bedside non-invasive modalities, estimating ICP from optic nerve distension . A scoping review compares its use against gold-standard invasive methods rather than replacing them.[9]
References30ShowHide
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- [2]Hawryluk GWJ, Rubiano AM, Totten AM, et al. Guidelines for the Management of Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: 2020 Update of the Decompressive Craniectomy Recommendations. Neurosurgery, 2020.PMID 32761068
- [3]Hutchinson PJ, Kolias AG, Timofeev IS, et al. Trial of Decompressive Craniectomy for Traumatic Intracranial Hypertension. The New England journal of medicine, 2016.PMID 27602507
- [4]Cooper DJ, Nichol AD, Bailey M, et al. Effect of Early Sustained Prophylactic Hypothermia on Neurologic Outcomes Among Patients With Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: The POLAR Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA, 2018.PMID 30357266
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- [8]Kochanek PM, Adelson PD, Rosario BL, et al. Comparison of Intracranial Pressure Measurements Before and After Hypertonic Saline or Mannitol Treatment in Children With Severe Traumatic Brain Injury. JAMA network open, 2022.PMID 35267036
- [9]Martínez-Palacios K, Vásquez-García S, Fariyike OA, et al. Using Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter for Intracranial Pressure (ICP) Monitoring in Traumatic Brain Injury: A Scoping Review. Neurocritical care, 2024.PMID 38114797
- [10]Liu M, Wang AJ, Chen Y, et al. Efficacy and safety of erythropoietin for traumatic brain injury. BMC neurology, 2020.PMID 33138778
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- [13]Cooper DJ, Rosenfeld JV, Murray L, et al. Decompressive craniectomy in diffuse traumatic brain injury. The New England journal of medicine, 2011.PMID 21434843
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- [15]SAFE Study Investigators, Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Clinical Trials Group, Australian Red Cross Blood Service, et al. Saline or albumin for fluid resuscitation in patients with traumatic brain injury. The New England journal of medicine, 2007.PMID 17761591
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- [17]Le Roux P, Menon DK, Citerio G, et al. Consensus summary statement of the International Multidisciplinary Consensus Conference on Multimodality Monitoring in Neurocritical Care : a statement for healthcare professionals from the Neurocritical Care Society and the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine. Intensive care medicine, 2014.PMID 25138226
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- [19]Roberts I, Sydenham E Barbiturates for acute traumatic brain injury. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 2012.PMID 23235573
- [20]Stein KY, Froese L, Gomez A, et al. Intracranial Pressure Monitoring and Treatment Thresholds in Acute Neural Injury: A Narrative Review of the Historical Achievements, Current State, and Future Perspectives. Neurotrauma reports, 2023.PMID 37636334
- [21]Okonkwo DO, Shutter LA, Moore C, et al. Brain Oxygen Optimization in Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Phase-II: A Phase II Randomized Trial. Critical care medicine, 2017.PMID 29028696
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- [24]Chadwick S, Donaldson L, Janin P, et al. The association between ventriculostomy - Related infection and clinical outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia, 2023.PMID 36827759
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